No Nickname
by Athelassa
Summary: There is one person who hasn’t been honoured with a nickname by Sawyer. After he gets into another fight with Jack, this person tries to talk some sense into him. Rather unusual pairing and slightly Skateish...


**No Nickname**

_By Athelas  
_

_Summary: There is one person who hasn't been honoured with a nickname by Sawyer. After he gets into another fight with Jack, this person tries to talk some sense into him. Rather unusual pairing and slightly Skate-ish …_

_Status: Complete_

_Rating: T for some swearing_

_Genre: General_

_A/N: English isn't my mother tongue and though I love this language, I still make a lot of mistakes. Have mercy for the non-native English speaker!  
Second, I haven't yet seen Season 2 that's why this little ficlet plays in S1. Hope there isn't something similar already shown in S2! _

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sea was quiet that evening. A few waves were lazily splashing up the shore and only a light breeze played with the woman's clothes. Red spread all over the ocean and lit her face. She closed her eyes and soaked up the last warm rays of the day. It seemed peaceful on the island, for once.

Soft footsteps on sand caught her attention and as she opened her eyes to look around she saw the outline of a tall man with dark short cropped hair walk up the beach in direction of a makeshift tent with a blue tarp. A long-drawn sigh came over her lips. She could actually feel the peacefulness flee from the beach.

'_There we go again…'_ she thought just a split second before she heard the familiar drawl.

"What do ya want, Doc? No woman to save or wound to sew up? Must be getting boring for ya…"

"Shut up Sawyer, I'm here to change your bandages. And I'm overjoyed you appreciate it so much otherwise it would be a real nuisance to come down here every day."

There was a short chuckle.

"O hooo, Jacko learned the meaning of sarcasm! What's next? You starting to torture people instead of doctoring 'em back to health? Oh sorry, forgot you did that already."

"I won't discuss this with you again. Maybe you deserved it."

There was a short silence and when Sawyer talked again it was with a hint of steel in his voice.

"Maybe I really did. So what? You think you're the one to give what I deserve? Spinal surgeon turned god?"

"Well, no one else bothers to explain to you what's good and what's wrong", Jack answered with the typical beginning of exasperation in his voice. "The… forced questioning was a bad idea but I still think it goes too far with you stealing other people's stuff, beating up whoever catches you on the wrong side and annoying the hell out of everyone else."

"Thanks for the lecture, Dad."

"Dad? I'm damn relieved I'm not your father. If I ever get to see him I'll talk to him about teaching manners. But if he is the same as you I guess I'll never…"

There was a short commotion and the dull thud of a fist striking something hard. Then a whispered, "Go to hell, Jack."

The silent observer watched from the beach as Sawyer strode out of his makeshift tent and disappeared with the last light of the day into the jungle. She got to her feet and slowly dusted the sand from her clothes. While she walked the few steps up the beach and closer to the tent she saw that a few people had gathered around Jack who was massaging his jaw.

"Damn him!" the doctor spat out angrily as he looked in the general direction of where Sawyer had disappeared. "One moment he is all witty remarks and the other he is jumping at my throat! This man is a danger for the whole camp!"

"What did you exactly say to him?" Sayid asked quietly.

Jack turned to the other man and threw up his hands.

"Nothing! That's the whole stupid point of it! I didn't even say anything to provoke him. He is like a barrel of dynamite, you never know when he'll blow up!"

Raising his arms in a placating gesture Sayid tried to calm down the doctor.

"Someone should talk to him."

Jack shook his head vigorously.

"Well, you can talk to him all you want but the point is that he won't listen. He never does! Is there no way to remove him from the camp? I swear I'll kick him out myself if he gets violent again. And knowing him, he will beat up someone else soon again. I can't and won't tolerate him any longer, we have enough problems as it is, we don't need Sawyer to destroy us from the inside!"

"Jack, calm down…" Sayid tried again.

The woman had listened closely and took another step forward.

"I'll talk to him."

Heads whipped around and stared at her, astonished. Jack ran a hand over his short hair and a frown crossed his features. However, his anger seemed to lay forgotten. For the moment.

"I don't think that's a good idea…"

"I'll try anyway," she answered patiently and giving them all a thorough look she turned around and walked slowly after Sawyer.

She found him easily as he hadn't gone far. Leaning against a crooked tree he smoked one of his cigarettes only ten minutes from the beach and stared forlorn to the jungle ground. It wasn't the first time she looked him over; she had observed him and his actions for quite some time. She was sure he had never noticed her attention.

He was totally caught up in his thoughts; she could tell by the way he dragged on his cig, the way his hand moved woodenly to his mouth. The smoke flowed out in a slow motion and it would have appeared relaxed if he hadn't finished every exhalation with a strained huff. And the expression on his face was anything but relaxed. His forehead all creased and the look in his eyes haunted.

Taking another long drag on his cig he suddenly swore.

"Son of a bitch!"

He glowered at the short smouldering stub between his fingers and then brought a hand to his lips where it had burnt him. There was more grumbling and swearing and before he could take the fight between him and the stub to the next round she decided to step in.

"Is this why you are always angry? Because you lose badly against your cigs?"

Sawyer's head shot up and his face showed real surprise. He took in her appearance and a look of confusion crossed his features.

"Rose?"

She smiled good-naturedly at him and came a few steps closer.

"What? No fancy nickname for me? I'm a bit disappointed. Perhaps you're losing your touch as well as your fights."

All traces of surprise were gone from his face and he narrowed his eyes. She could practically see the mask slip back in place and waited for an angry retort. It didn't take him too long.

"Is this the best the doc could send?" he sneered. "God, maybe he should've sent someone not in danger of a heart attack when it comes to dealing with me."

Rose wasn't impressed. She had dealt with people far worse than him, more aggressive, more dangerous. Closing the distance between them she sat down on a fallen log beside him and stretched out her legs. All the while Sawyer eyed her suspiciously and made no move to sit down as well.

"You can bark and snap all you want, you're not the type to bite. Not me, anyway. And just for the record, the doc hasn't sent me. I'm here on my own accord. I won't let myself be ordered around by an antsy leader who bustles about as if he had to save the whole island. And nearly all the extinct plants and insects on it, too."

This evoked a small but genuine grin from Sawyer.

"Well, wouldn't have pictured you as the type to criticize the doc," he said slowly, hair falling in his eyes as he looked down at her, smirking.

"I'm not criticizing him, the group needs a leader and he _is_ probably the best we have. I just don't like Jack, that's all," Rose answered, shrugging. "Well, back to you, boy. Sit down first, I hate to get a crick into my neck only because I have to stare up at you. You're tall enough as it is."

Sawyer's expression turned blank but she could tell that he was weighing hard between following her direct order or going against it. It was easy to guess which option he preferred.

"Sorry, but I'm not in a chit-chatting mood. As fun as it sounds, you'll have to invite some other guy for your tea party. See ya around," he drawled lazily and pushed himself off the tree he was leaning against.

"They're talking about expelling you from the camp," Rose said quietly to his turned back.

It was only for a split second but she saw his step falter. He took two more steps and then halted. His back still towards her, he turned his head to the side as he talked.

"And how they're gonna do this? Throwing me outta camp, building a fence and locking the entrance?"

"They have means to make you leave, believe me," Rose answered seriously, thinking of the guns. "It would be enough to refuse you access to the water supply."

Now he turned fully around and glared at her. All playfulness was wiped away from his face and for the first time she understood why some people were scared of him.

"I don't care, I can find water on my own," Sawyer ground out fiercely but a short flicker of fear betrayed his words.

Rose watched him intently. As he didn't make a move to leave she ventured slowly, "You care about Kate. You try very hard to appear cold and indifferent but you still care a lot about her. To leave her behind wouldn't be easy for you."

His eyes narrowed to small slits.

"Who the hell are ya? My shrink or what? Don't try to analyze me, you have no idea who I am or how I feel!" he barked at Rose, stomping back to her and staring down dangerously.

"Don't yell at me, boy, it makes my ears ring," she said calmly, not at all intimidated. "Back in the Bronx where I grew up I had a little brother who looked exactly like you when he threw a tantrum. Except that he was about thirty years younger than you at that time and black, of course. A shame he died when he was only fourteen, shot by the drug dealer he worked for."

Sawyer looked down at her a while longer, unsure if he should still be angry or just downright confused by this shameless revelation of her past. Running a hand through his longish hair he decided for the latter. He sunk beside her on the log.

"The Bronx, eh?" he asked quietly and glanced at her with newfound respect. "Not easy to grow up there, I guess."

Rose nearly smiled as she saw Sawyer once again rendered to thoughtfulness. He had one hell of a temper but deep down he was still able to care. And not only about Kate but about everyone who was willing to look past his mask of selfishness and arrogance. He wasn't nearly as insensitive as most people believed him to be. The bad ass act, however, had probably been what had kept him alive all this years.

"No, it wasn't easy," she answered. "We were one of the many poor black families in the Bronx. Violence, drugs and a future without hope were the gifts my parents handed to me at a young age. But I swore myself to escape and lead a better life than they did. And guess what? I did just that. It wasn't as easy as it sounds now but I made it. I left the past behind me."

Sawyer laughed bitterly.

"Well, good to see at least one person could realize her dreams. Doesn't matter here on the island anyway."

"Yes, it does matter, boy," she said pointedly but with an air fondness. "Weren't you tempted to get out of that plane wreck and pretend to be a new person with a second chance?"

"No, sorry, was too busy ducking burning shrapnel and stepping over bodies… Ow, what was that for?" he asked, indignant, as he rubbed the spot on his head where she had smacked him.

"You know what I mean," Rose replied seriously. "Since you have missed your second chance you'll have to arrange yourself a third chance. No one expects you to go all Jack with everyone. Tamp that temper of yours down a bit, shut your mouth when it's appropriate and you'd be all adorable."

Rose chuckled lightly when she saw him grimace, disgusted with the idea.

"Jeez, woman, no one's called me adorable since the day I learned the meaning of the word 'provocation'. And that was quite long ago, I'll have you know."

This made her smile broadly and after a moment he gave her a dimpled grin. Now she could truly picture him as a small boy, driving everyone around him insane. Both of them stayed quiet for a while letting a relaxed silence fall over the place. It was Sawyer who broke it first.

"Don't you even want to know why I hit Jack?" he asked hesitantly.

Rose wiped the question away with a movement of her hand.

"No, I don't really want to know. I can tell that he said something that hurt you deeply, but he didn't do it intentionally. Whatever he said struck a painful nerve in you, probably your past. It must've been really bad because you get that faraway, haunted look into your eyes every now and then. You don't need to elaborate, everything I need to know lies in that look," she was quiet for a while, then added thoughtfully, "Hmm, my husband uses to say that kindred souls know each other without words."

For once, Sawyer was lost for words.

Rose took this as her key to leave him alone. She slowly got up and groaned a bit as her stiff muscles protested. It was getting darker by the minute and she hoped she would find her way back to the beach.

"Thank you, Rose," Sawyer said finally. The words seemed to cost him dearly and he didn't look at her.

Rose reached out a hand to pat his shoulder and smiled.

"What? You still can't come up with a nickname for me? I don't know if I should feel honoured or insulted. If your creativity stays on holiday a little longer and it hurts you too much to use my given name, just call me 'friend', ok?"

There it was again, that adorable dimpled smile.

"Ok."

The jungle was quiet once the sound of Rose's footsteps faded out of earshot. Some part of Sawyer's mind, the one that wasn't too caught up with the weird conversation he had just had, noticed once again how eerily silent it was on the island. No bird twittering or other animal sound could be heard. It was too damn quiet for a jungle! That was why he liked to stay on the beach, there at least you could always hear the crashing of the waves.

He peered uneasily around and somehow had the feeling there were eyes on his back. His hand reached unconsciously for the back of his denims but only found thin air. He suddenly realized he had handed over the weapon to Kate yesterday. Slowly kneeling down to reach for a branch on the ground he heard a rustle behind him.

Whirling around he shouted, "Come out and show yourself! I know you're there and I ain't afraid!"

There was a light laughter and out of the dark jungle stepped Kate, playfully raising a cluster of bananas over her head.

"Oh come on, Sawyer, admit you're downright frightened of being attacked by me. And armed with bananas at that…"

Sawyer let out a long breath and leaned against a tree.

"Hell, Freckles, can't you announce yourself or somethin'? Or maybe I'll just have to tie bells around your ankles…"

Kate laughed out loud.

"Hey, I'm no goat you know."

"Could've fooled me."

"Ha ha, very funny, Sawyer. What are you doing out here all alone? Did Jack finally kick you out?"

The question had been asked teasingly but if it hadn't been so dark, Kate would have seen the humour die in his eyes.

"No, not yet. But it probably won't take him too long."

The way he said that, all serious, made her suspicious.

"What happened?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary," he answered, trying to sound nonchalant. "We argued and I hit Jacko. Was a downright boring evening."

Sawyer couldn't see it in the dark but he was sure Kate rolled her eyes at him.

"Oh, you're just hopeless! The two of you are behaving like school boys whenever you see each other…"

"Kate, it's alright," he said and noticed, amazed, he really meant it. "I already had someone giving me a lecture. Maybe it even did some good."

When he saw Kate look at him with her head to the side, half surprised, half sceptical, he flashed her a bright smile. He took the heavy banana cluster from her shoulder and held out his hand to help her over the fallen log. Her expression turned from surprised to confused but she accepted his help.

He moved to let go of her when he felt her grab his hand more tightly. A feeling of warmth spread through him. It was damn hard to keep his other hand to himself AND keep his mouth shut. Kate wasn't looking at him and he could tell she would be uncomfortable if he commented on them holding hands like teenagers.

"So, who gave you the lecture today, Tex?" Kate asked curiously.

"You have three guesses, Freckles," he answered, smirking. "But I tell you, it won't be enough."

"I'll find out. Sayid?"

"Nope."

They strolled back to the beach, the darkness and silence of the jungle suddenly oddly comforting.

"Claire?"

"Nope. Only one guess left."

"Vincent?" Kate asked with laughter in her voice, obviously tiring of the game he was playing.

"Well, barked at me a bit, but wouldn't count that as a lecture. Sorry, Freckles, I ain't going to tell you."

They walked a bit in silence and the crashing of the waves became louder. Kate suddenly halted and looked at him closely.

"Whoever talked to you did a nice job. No sexual innuendos, no biting sarcasm and you actually helped me over the log like a gentleman. If it wouldn't sound so off I would say you are being… adorable."

Sawyer winced as if she had struck him. What was it today with women and the word 'adorable'? There were about one hundred snarky remarks on his mind but for once he decided to let it go.

"I know, Baby, just enjoy it for once, tomorrow I'll have forgotten all about the lecture and I'll be back to my old self," he answered instead with a smile and kissed her hand.

Kate laughed out loud and shook her head.

"Well, then come on, my shining knight."

Together they walked down to the beach.

- Z Ändi – The End -


End file.
